Friday, April 13, 2007

Fish and Purple Bridges
Today was one of those really good days. It did not necessarily start off good. But even with morning problems and one serious meltdown at lunch it was a GREAT day. We wanted to do something fun with the girls and we have Becca here with us for Spring Break. Our time with Becca seems so short that I wanted us to go out and have a day that a 2 year old and an almost 12 year old could enjoy. I took today off and Betty, Sarah (Betty’s 11 year old daughter), Becca, Madison and I headed off to Newport on the Levee. The main attraction is the Newport Aquarium. Madison loves fish. It is one of her favorite words. She always points out the fish in books. We even went out and bought her the movie Finding Nemo. She loved all the fish and was amazed at the huge sharks that swam over her head.


This is my absolute favorite photo of the day. I do not know how Betty managed, but she got a perfect shot of Madisons reflection on the glass of the shark tank. I love the look on her face a she watches them swim in front of her.

We had a great time at the Aquarium. We then had lunch and walked across the Purple People Bridge.


Yep…it really is purple and it is only for people. The bridge is 2,670 feet long, making it the longest pedestrian bridge in the country that links two states. The bridge originally opened on April 1, 1872 and closed to cars and pedestrians in 2001. On April 25, 2003 the bridge reopened...purple and for people only.

Becca, Madison, Betty and Sarah. Walking with Sarah.


Fun on the Bridge with Nemo.

Sisters...

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Madison and her Best Friend....



Madison LOVES Blue Clues. It is her absolute favorite show. We have a DVD in the car that she watches when we go anywhere that takes more than a few minutes. Blue, however, is not her favorite character. Even though she says, "Blue" and "Steve", her favorite is Magenta. Magenta is the first multi-syllable word that Madison has said. It is really quite cute to hear her say, Jagenta or Genta for short. Becca and I found Madison a stuffed Magenta toy and it sat on a shelf in her room. The other day Madison climbed the steps; went into her room; found her Magenta toy and preceded to climb back down the steps with Magenta in one arm and a book (her other favorite thing) in the other. She did not let go of Magenta for the rest of the day.

Here are some photos of Madison and Magenta....







Friday, April 06, 2007

Great Two Weeks!!!

Madison was home with me last week. My day started at 4:30 am and I was done with work by 1 pm. She played, watched TV and looked at books. She was so good. We only had a few meltdowns. She would bring books in and sit by me while I worked. She had speech therapy on Thursday and still did not connect with the speech therapist. But, Julie gave us plenty of exercises to do with Madison to improve the poor muscle tone in her face.

This week she went to Bettys. And she LOVES it. We thought it would take at least a week for Madison to get comfortable, but it didnt even take a day. She was a little clingy to Daddy the first morning, but after that she goes in, raise her arms for Betty to pick her up and pretty much is done with Dad. She has a great time there. No meltdowns!! On Thursdays I am home with her and she does physical and speech therapy. Madisons physical therapist is a guy named Dan. It took her all of about 2 minutes to acclimate to him. She allowed him to work with her leg muscles and get a plan of action for her treatment. Madison has always preferred men. She loves her Daddy, Brother and Grandpa. She loves the women in her life too. But, this little girl loves having the men in her life wrapped around her little finger.

This is the best decision we could have made. Madison is improving and advancing daily. With her therapy and the Love she gets from Betty when we are not there, Madison will be back on track before we know it.